Case feeding mechanism for packing machine



July 19, 1955 2,713,448

L. WIMMER ET AL.

CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE 10 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug.3, 1949 O lffa ||J 153 154 IJWYWIU.. i "wm l INVENTORS un f gyra/5x7Kuna-Ll (aA-045ml THE/l? ATTORNEYS x- Awg 4u A July 19, 1955 CASE FiledAug. 3, 1949 L. WIMMER ETAL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE FIG. 2

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10 Sheets-Sheet 2 L d10INVE ORS jager/y rf'ZZ/Wr BY THE/R ATTORNEYS lOSheets-Sheet 5 July 19, 1955 1 WIMMER ETAL CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FORPACKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 5, 1949 WI ll .oll. |0| l l.. m um roor; -b ll --0 O T., n m mmv NN w13- @N mm M Ml l. ||n a l., A wf .r S, o w ,alIl udY M A. am L55 O- @A O. @n.m .HNL -CA o. @if A .@Vm A AAA o la MN nEMME w .IIAW

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July 19, 1955 l.. wlMMER ETAL CASE FEEDING MECHANISM F'OR PACKINGMACHINE lO Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 3. 1949 9,5, el? r mi uw THE/l?ATTORNEYS July 19, 1955 L. wlMMr-:R ETAL 2,713,448

CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 5. 1949 10Sheets-Sheet 5 m? XM1 MAw-f-o-L 771/5 ATTORNEYS July 19, 1955 L.wlMMr-:R ET AL 2,713,448

CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE Filed Au@ 3. 1949 10sheets-sheet 6 I l OO sa C: 123 1/5 l@ jg 122 fla 121 July 19, 19552,713,448

L. WIMMER ETAL CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 3,1949 l0 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. I3 d Maa lila FIG. I3

July 19, 1955 L. wlMMER ETAL 2,713,448

CASE F'EEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 3, 1949 10Sheets-Sheet 8 TMF/,Q ATTORNEYS lO Sheets-Sheet 9 L. WIMMER ET AL CASEFEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE Filed Allg. 5, 1949 July 19, 1,955

INVENTORS d gz/,f ,/fwff B MKM THE/K ATTORNEYS July 19, 1955 L. wlMMERET A1.

CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKING MACHINE lO Sheets-Sheet lO Filed Aug.3, 1949 FIG. I9

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ORS zmwfr United States Patent O CASE FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PACKINGMACHINE Ludwig Wimmer and Edgar Ardell, Middletown, Conn., assignors toEmhart Manufacturing Company, a cor poration of Delaware ApplicationAugust 3, 1949, Serial No. 108,264

15 Claims. (Cl. 226--14) This invention relates to case feedingmechanism for packing machines and has for its general object to providean improved case feeding mechanism capable of operating to feed eitherwooden trays or shipping cases made of corrugated board, or the like.

Articles such as bottles or cans of beverages or food products, alsobars of soap, packages of cereal and other square or rectangulararticles are commonly packed for shipment in cases made of corrugatedboard, ber board, wood or other suitable material. The articles areassembled by suitable mechanism to form a charge corresponding in sizeto the dimensions of the case, and in one form of packing apparatus thecharge is passed by gravity through a chargedirecting mechanism into thecase. Such directing mechanism is sometimes arranged to handle thecharge with all of the articles composing it in contact with oneanother, and sometimes the mechanism is arranged to direct or guide eachone of the articles separately and individually, as is required inpacking cell cases, that is, cases which have partitioning devicesbetween the articles to prevent breakage or damage by the usual contactor rubbing during transit.

The aim of the present invention is to provide for the automatic feedingof the successive cases or trays to the loading table of the packingmachine so as to obviate the placing of the empty trays or cases on thistable by hand.

It is important that the cases be fed successively into accurateregistry with the charge directing mechanism of the packing machine andone of the more particular objects of the present invention is toprovide a feeding mechanism which is capable of accomplishing suchaccurate feed or positioning of the cases or trays and which moreover isreliable in operation so that frequent attention or servicing is notrequired.

l Another object of the invention is to provide a case feeding apparatuswhich will operate without jamming or damaging the cases or articles. Y

The invention will be illustrated and described as embodied in anapparatus for packing bottles, such, for example, as Coca-Cola bottlesin wooden trays which have individual cells or compartments for therespective bottles of the charge. ItV will be understood, however, thatthe machine is also adapted to handle shipping cases made of othermaterials as above mentioned and also to pack therein other articles,either round, square or rectangular, also as above indicated.

The invention will be understood by considering the accompanyingdrawings which show two such embodiments by way of example. In thesedrawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a bottle packing machine and part of thecase feeding mechanism, the latter being shown in section as indicatedby broken line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the machine looking from the left of Fig. 1,the lower part being shown in section, as indicated by broken line 2--2of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation looking from the right of Fig. 1;

2,713,448 Patented July 19, 19.55

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the case feeding mechanism looking fromthe right of Fig. 2, certain parts being shown in different positionsand only a small portion of the packing machine being included.

Fig. 4a is a detail section taken on line la-4a of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4b is a detail elevation of an air valve and its operatingmechanism shown in Fig. 4, but with the valve closed instead of open;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the case feeding mechanism with the left handportion shown in horizontal section on line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the tray intake or timing section 0f themachine;

Fig` 7 is an elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of certain parts shown in Fig. 4 with theparts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 5 showing adetail;

Fig. l0 is a vertical section taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 1l is a detail vertical section taken on line 11-,11 of Fig. 5;

Fig. l2 is a similar section taken on line 12-12 of Fig. 5;

Figs. 13 to 2l, inclusive, illustrate a modification of the case feedingand ejecting mechanism, Fig. 13 being a side elevation somewhat similarto Fig. 4;

Fig. 13a is a vertical section of a detail taken on line 13a-13a of Fig.13;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 13 with the lefthand portion shown in section on line 14-14 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is an end elevation looking from the right of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a vertical section taken on line 16-16 of Fig 15;

Fig. 17 is an elevation looking from the left of Fig; 13 with the partsof the packing machine shown in fragmentary view;

Fig. 18 is a detail section taken on line 18-18 of Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is a vertical section taken on line 19-19 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 20 is an electrical diagram; and

Fig. 21 consists of a series of diagrammatic views of two of theswitches shown in Fig. 20 and their operating mechanism, showing theparts in four different positions.

Referring first to Figs. 1-5, the bottle packing machine, Which isindicated generally by reference numeral 1, is illustrated and describedin Patent 2,219,827, W. D. Kimball and Cornelius I. Braren, grantedOctober 29, 1940, and owned by the same assignee as the presentapplication. Reference to that patent may be had for the details ofconstruction of the packing machine, only sutlicient illustration anddescription of this machine being included herein as is necessary for anunderstanding of the case feeding mechanism of the present invention,and also to describe a change in the construction and operation of thepacking machine which is not disclosed in the mentioned patent. Thischange consists in the utilization of a one-revolution clutch to causethe charge to descend into the case.

Describing the packing machine as briefly as possible, the bottles areadvanced on a continuously moving wide belt 2 from left to right asviewed in Fig. 2 into a charge forming and segregating mechanismindicated generally by numeral 3. The charge forming mechanism comprisesa series of upright metal plates 4, spaced apart slightly more than thediameter of the bottles and arranged to maintain the bottles in uprightpositioiT-s'upported on a series of rails S (Fig. 1) onto which thebottles are moved by the belt 2. The bottles are maintained in rows onbelt 2 by means of suitably spacing guide plates which are in line withthe plates 4 as shown in Fig. l, one of these guide plates beingindicated by numeral 6 in Fig. 2.

The charge directing mechanism, which is indicated generally byreference numeral 7, comprises the series of rails together with crossbars, one of which is shown at 8 in Fig. 1. rfhese bars have the samespacing as the rails and with them divide the area beneath plates 4 ofthe charge forming mechanism into a series of square chutes, twenty-fourin number, the wooden trays into which the bottles are to be placedbeing subdivided into twenty-four bottle compartments by suitable woodenpartitions, each compartment being arranged in four rows of six each.Secured to and projecting downward from al l four walls of each of thetwenty-four chutes are spring ngers 9 which serve to guide the bottlesinto the individual cells of the case.

When a complete charge of bottles has been delivered to the chargeforming mechanism 3 between the plates 4 by belt 2, and also when a trayhas been elevated into the dot and dash line position shown in Fig. 2 toreceive the charge, the plates 4 are bodily shifted to the right (Fig.l) until they are in vertical alignment with rails S. This causes thefour rows of bottles to be moved laterally oif from their respectivesupporting rails and allowed to descend by gravity through therespective chutes into the tray. Plates 4 then are shifted back to theiroriginal position shown in Fig. 1 where the vertical alignment of rails5 is midway between the plates and the plates are in a horizontalalignment with the re ptve guides 6 which maintain the bottles in rowson In order to support plates 4 and to impart this shifting motion tothem, they are rigidly suspended from a pair of parallel horizontal rods10 by suitable hangers. Rods 10 in turn are pivoted at their oppositeends to a second pair of shorter horizontal rods 11 which are pivotallymounted at the upper ends of two pairs of parallel rock arms 12 and 13.Rock arms 12 are keyed or pinned at their lower ends to a horizontalrock shaft 14, mounted in brackets on the frame, while the lower ends ofrock arms 13 are similarly supported on the opposite side of themachine.

Rock shaft 14 is actuated to cause the bodily shifting of plates 4 bymeans of a face cam 15 and a carri fol lower roller 16 mounted at thelower end of an actuating member 17 which is loosely mounted on the leftend of rock shaft 14 (Fig. 2). Member 17 has an integral upwardlyextending arm 18, to the upper end of which a tension coil spring 19 isattached. The motion of member 17 is transmitted to rock shaft 14 by ayieldable connection including a compression spring 20 which encircles arod 21, the left end of which is fixed in arm 18. Rod 21 passes slidablythrough an aperture in a block pivoted at the upper end of a short arm22 which is xed to shaft 14 as indicated in Fig. 2. In this way, plates4 are yieldably actuated in both directions to prevent damage to bottlesin the case of a jam.

Operating cam 1S is mounted on the end of a horizontal cam shaft 23which is intermittently rotated by means of a one-revolution clutch,indicated generally by numeral 24 at the opposite end of the shaft(Figs. l and 3). Clutch 24 includes a continuously rotating toothedwheel 25, which constitutes the driving member, and a double armeddriven member 26 keyed to shaft 23. One of the arms of member 26 has adog 27 pivoted at its end, and the other arm engages a back lashpreventing latch 28.

Power for operating the machine is supplied through two endless chains29 and 30 both driven from a common shaft, such driving shaft (notshown) usually being the slow speed shaft of a speed reducer. Chain 29is trained around a sprocket near the right end of a shaft 3l which isparallel with shaft 23 and which constitutes the operating shaft of adriving pulley or drum 32 for the bottle supply belt 2. The second chainis trained round a sprocket on a third parallel shaft 33 to which ishired a continuously rotating three-lobed cam 34 for resetting thecontrol mechanism of one-revolution clutch 24.

Shafts 3l and 33 rotate at the same speed. The continuousy rotatingtoothed driving wheel 25 of the clutch is driven in the direction shownby the arrow in Fig. 3 by means of suitable gearing 35. It will beunderstood that the driving dog 27 is biased by means of a tensionspring 36 toward toothed wheel 25.

The tripping of the clutch to cause it to make one rcvohztion is done bymeans of a control arm 37 (Fig. 3) which is pinned to a control shaft 38and which has a roller 3@ to engage the tail portion 40 of driving dog27. When arm 37 is moved downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3tail portion 40 is released and spring 36 causes dog 27 to engage one ofthe teeth of driving wheel 25 thus imparting rotation to the drivenmember 26. Control arm 37 and roller 39 are biased downward by means ofa coil spring 41 (Fig. l) on control shaft 38.

As will presently appear, after the clutch control mechanism is trippedto start the one revolution the control is immediately reset so as toprevent more than one revotution. This is done by three-lobed resettingcani 34 which engages a roller at the end of an arm 42 which is mountedon shaft 33 with a yielding connection through coil spring 43surrounding shaft 33 (Fig. l). The rocking of control shaft 3S to tripthe clutch is controlled by a latching mechanism about to be describedwhich, resisting spring 41, holds the parts in the position shown inFigs. 2 and 3 where the dog 27 is out of engagement with the clutchdriving wheel 25. The latching mechanism just referred to is arranged tocause the operation of one-revolution clutch 24 only when a full chargeof bottles is within the charge forming mechanism and a table 44, whichis vertically movable to raise the tray, is in its upper position asshown in Figs. 2 and 4, ready to receive the charge from the chargedirecting mechanism 7. The latching mechanism comprises a iatch bar 45which is mounted on collars fixed to a cross shaft 46. together with aseries of four bottle actuated iatches 47 and a single latch 43 which isactuated by case table 44 through suitable mechanism. Latches 47 and aremounted in line on a common fixed supporting shaft 43 and biased intoengagement with latch bar 45, latches 47 being provided with tensionsprings 5t) (Fig. 2) for this purpose.

The lower ends of latches 47 are provided with horizontal proiections inthe form of screws 51, the headed ends of which project to the left asviewed in Fig. 2 so as to he engaged by the lower portion of the firstbottle in each row. Latch 48, instead of having one of these projectingscrews, has pivoted to its lower end a link rod 542 whose opposite endis connected to the bell crank lever S3. The other arm of this lever isconnected by means of a downwardly extending offset link 54 to anactuating arm on a short rock shaft 56 which is mounted in a suitablebracket attached to the machine frame and has at its opposite end ahorizontal projecting iinger 57 in the upward path of a short pinprojecting from the end of case table 44. The engagement of this pinwith linger 57 releases latch 48 from latch bar 45 through the linkagejust described.

Shaft 46 of this latch mechanism is provided at its right end as viewedin Fig. l with an arrii 58 connected through a horizontal link 59 withone arm of a second bell crank lever 6l) which is pivoted to the frameabove one-revolution clutch 24 (Figs. 2 and 3). A vertical link 61 joinsthe other arm of lever 60 with a short actuating arm 62 which is pinnedto clutch control shaft 3S.

The arrangement is Isuchthat when latches 47 and 48 are in engagementwith latch bar 45 the linkage just described holds Vcontrol shaft 38 andcontrol arm 37 in the position shown in Fig. 3 where roller 39 engagestail 40 of dog 27 thus holding the clutch 24 in disengaged position,against the action of coil spring 41. Whenever latches 47 and 48 areactuated to release latchvbar 45 by the presence of a full charge ofbottles in the charge forming mechanism 3 and the arrivalof the casetable 44 at the top of its movement, the linkage above described allowsspring 41 to rock control shaft 38 and arm 37 in the direction to,release tail A40 of dog 27 and the clutch 24 is engaged therebycausing.. shaft 23 to commerce rotating.

This causes thedischarge of the bottles into the case which is promptlyfollowed by the descent of case table 44 as will presently appear.Consequently, latches 47 and 48 are returned to their latching positionalmost immediately and as soon thereafter as one of thethree lobes ofresetting cam 34 moves arm 42 upward again control shaft 38 and arm 37lare latched and held in this position, so that roller 39 will engage thetail 40 of dog 27, at the end of the revolution of shaft 23, and stopthe shaft.

This completes the description ofthe one-revolution clutch-controlledpacking machine.`

ln general arrangement and operation, the case or tray feeding mechanismincludes a night conveyer section-63 (Fig. 5) and an in-feed orcase-supply section 64 (Figs. 5, 6 and 7), by which the empty trays aresupplied or delivered between the flight bars of section 63 in timedrelation to the movement of thesebars. Step-bystep operating mechanismis provided to advance` the llight conveyer of section 63 to move thetrays successively onto elevating table 44, and mechanism is alsoprovided for coordinating the irl-feed, the step-by-step operatingmechanism and the operating means for elevating table 44 so as to causethe trays to be fed and ejected Without jamming and withoutinterruption.

This coordination in the'apparatus shown in Figs. ll2 is entirely bymechanical means, whereas the modied form shown in Figs. 13-21 includeselectrically operated coordinating mechanism.

In the operation of the apparatus, the cases are advanced through sixcase positions indicated by reference characters Ct-C (see Figs. 4, 5and 7). Upon the lowering of the table 44 the loaded case returns to thesame elevation as position Cs of Fig. l and is ejected from theapparatus by the next step advance of endless chains 7l. The ejectedlled case passes onto anl inclined roller conveyer 99, 'or any othersuitable removing conveyer. v

The construction and arrangement of the elevating mechanism for table 44and of the step-by-step control mechanism of the flight conveyer chains71 Vis such'that each advance of the ight conveyer vcan take place onlyafter completion of a loading cycle, that is, an upA and down movementof the elevating table. Also, the arrangement is such that no advance ofthe flight conveyer chains can take place unless cases are present atthe intake of the machine and on the flight conveyer section Power foroperating flight conveyer sections 64 and in-feed section 63 is suppliedfrom any suitable source by means of an endless chain 65 which drives ashort longitudinal shaft 66. Driving shaft 67 of the in-feed section 64is connected tov shaft 66 through a chain l68. Shaft 69 which is themain operating shaft of the flight conveyer section 63 is driven fromshaft 66 through beveled gearing 70.

The flight conveyer section 63 comprises a pair of endless chains 71,one mounted adjacent each of the two side frames 72 and 72a. Thesechains are operated by driving sprockets which are pinned or keyed to adriving shaft 73 at the right end of the apparatus as shown in Fig. 5.'The chains 71 travel toward the left along suitable supporting rails 74(Fig. 4). At the left end of the machine chains 71 pass over idlersprockets 75 mounted on a cross shaft 76, thence downward around a pairof take-up sprockets 77, thence toward the right end of the machinearound another pair of idler sprockets 78 and back to driving shaft 73.

Flight chains 71 carry between them suitably spaced flight bars 79, andthe chains are operated intermittently from continuously rotating shaft69 by step-by-step mechanism 85 (Fig. 4), about to be described, so asto position successive cases over the packing machine elevating table44, in registry with the charge-directing mechanism 7. The cases moveforward between stationary side guide bars 80 and 81. Guide bar 81 iscontinued up to the edge of table 44 (Fig. 5). Guide bar 80, however,terminates sooner, and a pivoted guide section 82, the front end ofwhich is urged inwardly by a compression spring 83, forces the caseagainst the opposite guide bar 81 so as to produce lateral registry ofthe case with charge directing mechanism 7 when the case arrives ontable 44.

The. mechanism 85 for imparting the desired intermittent motion toflight chains 71 is shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 8-10. This mechanismcomprises a crank 84 which is keyed to shaft 69 and therefore rotatescontinuously. Crank 84 has pivoted to its crank pin a rack bar 86 havingteeth on its upper surface at its right end portion. The teeth are incontinuous engagement with the teeth of a pinion 87 (Fig. 9) which iskeyed to operating shaft 73 for driving the flight chains 71. Theseparts are maintained in-operative engagement by means of a suitablehousing 88 which is mounted in such a way as to pivot about the centerof shaft 73 as the crank rotates. From this it will be understood thatthe motion of pinion 87 is a continuous oscillation under` the drivingaction of rack bar 86. The arrangement is such that pinion 87 turnsthrough an angle of 360 degrees-one complete revolution-during eachstroke of rack bar 86.

Pinion 87 is mounted on and keyed to a short sleeve 89 which, in turn,rotates on an extension of shaft 73. Housing 88 is carried on sleeve 89,and keyed at the outer end of this sleeve is a driving arm 90 whichimparts the rotation to shaft 73. A driving pawl 91 is pivoted at theouter end of arm 90 and is constructed and arranged to drivingly engagea notch 92 in a wheel 93 which is keyed to shaft 73 as shown in Fig. 10.Pawl 91 is biased toward wheel 93 by means of a tension spring 94 (Figs.5 and 8).

It will be understood that whenever pawl 91 is allowed to engage notch92 of wheel 93 during a stroke of rack 86, shaft 73 will be turned onefull revolution. This moves the ight chains forward a distancecorresponding to the spacing of flight bars 79, and consequently, movescases between these various flight bars forward one case position. Thecontrol of pawl 91 to cause the step-by-step operating mechanism toadvance the flight conveyer chain 71 is accomplished by means of amovable shield segment 95 (Fig. 5) carried at the outer end of a rockarm 96 which turns loosely on the outer end of shaft 73. By engagementwith a pin 97 which projects from one side of pawl 91 shield 95 eitherprevents or permits the engagement of pawl 91 with notch 92 of wheel 93at each end of the oscillation of arm 90 by the reciprocation of rack86. The locked-out position is shown in Fig. 4 and the engaging positionin Fig. 8. The shifting of shield 95 from one position to the other isby means of a link 98 and the operation of this link will be discussedlater on.

The intake end of the machine shown in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises asuitable framework for supporting a pair of endless conveyer belts 100.These, at their left ends, pass around pulleys which are supported onthe driving shaft 67, and, on their opposite ends, on pulleys which aresupported on an idler shaft 101. The cases at positions C1 and C2 areurged forward towards the left by the friction of belts 100 and alsopreferably by gravity (Fig. 7). The case at position C2 is in contactwith the case at position C3 which rests upon an in clined roller tablesection 102 supporting the iirst case within flight conveyer section 63.Hence, the advance of cases C1 and C2 takes place only when the case atC3 has moved forward by the action of the step-by-step mechanism.

Cases Ci and C2 advance between side guide rails 193 and 1114. Guide 103is preferably yieldably mounted as shown in Fig. 6 to facilitate theoperation of a movable checking plate 1115 which operates below theopposite guide 1114. The function of this plate is to hold back the caseat position C2 while the case at position C3 is being advanced by theflight conveyor. Plate IGS, accordingly, is mounted on the end of an armwhich is pinned to a vertical rock shaft 106, this shaft being actuatedby means of a cam 107 which cooperates with i a carn follower mounted onthe end of an arm 19S which is lifted to the lower end of shaft 196. Cam107 is mounted on a shaft 1119 which is chain-connected by a chain 11h`to driving shaft 73 of the Hight conveyer chain 71.

l'n the form of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to l2, the coordinatingmechanism comprises a number of mechanically operated latches forcontrolling the step-bystep operating mechanism by controlling theposition of shieid segment 9S, together' with mechanically operatedmeans for operating an air control valve 111 for an cylinder 112 whichraises and lowers elevating table 44. 1t wirl be understood that airunder suitable pressure for operating the piston of cylinder 112 issupplied to control valve 111 by means of a pipe (not shown), and whenvalve 111 is in the open position shown in Fig. 4, the air tlows througha connecting pipe 113 to the bottom of cylinder 112 and causes the table44 to rise from position C to position Cs (both shown in Fig. 2) inwhich the tray is ready to receive the bottles 'rom the charge directingmechanism 7.

When air valve operating lever 111@ is in the position shown in Fig. 4 3air valve 111 is closed, shutting off the supply of air to cylinder 112and connecting pipe 113 with an exhaust opening 114 (Fig. 2) so thattable i4 can return by gravity to the low position C5.

The mechanically operated latches just referred to are shown in Fig. 5at 115. 116 and 117. These latches are all alike and are pivoted to ahorizontal cross-shaft 118 (Fig. 4). They have actuating portions belowthis shaft and latching portions above. all of which engage a commonlatch bar 119 which is mounted on two short arms that are fixed to asecond cross-shaft 120 (Fig. 5) adjacent shaft 1.13 (see also Figs. 4, Sand l2).

Latch 11.5 is controlled by the entering case at position C1 (Fig. 7)and prevents the advance of ight conveyer chains 71 unless a case is athand to move into this conveyor. it is actuated by a link 121 (Fig. 12),the right hand of which is connected to a bell crank lever 122, thesecond arm of this lever being connected by a link 123 (Figs. 6 and 7),and the outer end of this link being connected to an arm 124 which ismoved by a detector finger 125 arranged to be engaged and presseddownwardly by the bottom of the case at position C1. if no case ispresent, tension Spring 126 holds the parts in position to disengagelatch 115 from latch bar 119.

Latch 116 is controlled by the position of the case elevating table i4and prevents the liight conveyer from being advanced when the elevatingtable is in the up position. Referring to Fig. 8, a link 127 extendstoward the left from the lower end of latch 116 and is connected to arm128 which is pinned to a short cross shaft supported by a bracket 129(Fig. 5) attached to the machine frame. On the opposite end of thisshaft there is a second arm 13,0 which is arranged to be actuated by arod 131 mounted for vertical sliding movement in bracket 12,9. Acompression spring 131 tends to move latch 116 into engagement withlatch bar 119. However, when table 44 descends to its lower position C5,the head of an adjustable actuating screw 133 engages the top of rod 131and moves the latch to the release position.

The third latch 117 is operated by a case detector 134 which is actuatedby the case at position C3, the first case to be admitted to the tiightconveyer section 63. This latch insures thatbefore the flight conveyorcan be advanced a case has properly entered the space in front of atiight bar and guards against a case being prevented from entering byprotruding nails or strapping. Detector finger 134 is engaged by theforward side of the case and is supported on a vertical shaft 135, andon the lower end of this shaft there is an arm 136 connected by a link137 to latch 117 (see Figs. 4 and 5).

Latch bar 119 controls the operation of link 98 which operates to shiftthe shield segment of the step-bystep operating mechanism from theposition shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 8 to cause thesteplay-step mechanism to advance tiight conveyer chains 71. The mererelease of latch bar 119 by all three latches 115, 116, and 117 will notof itself move link 98. This movement is timed by means of a cam 13Sfixed to drive shaft 69 (Figs. 4 and 8) and having a cam follower roller139 which is mounted on the end of an arm 140, also fixed to shaft forlatch bar 119. The shape of cam 133 is such that although latch bar 119has been released by the three latches, shaft 1Z0 will not rock to shiftlink 9S and shield Segment 95 until rack bar 86 is at the left end ofits stroke, as viewed in Fig. 8, which places notch 92 of wheel 93 ofthe step-by-step mechanism substantially opposite the nose of drivingdog 91.

When the parts reach this position, link 98 is actuated and shieldsegment 95 is shifted to the position shown in Fig. 8 whereby the pin 97on the side of dog 91 has been released by the shield and the dogallowed to drop into engagement with notch 92. This engagement thereforetakes place while crank 34 is at a dead center position and theengagement of the dog and notch takes place while the parts arestationary. The flight chains '71 are operated with harmonic motion bythe step-bystep mechanism. dog 91 being withdrawn from notch 2 when rackbar 85 has reached a following dead Center position after one or morecomplete revolutions of crank 84.

The apparatus operates in the follo. 1g sequence. Afesnming that themachine is primed with empty cases at position Ci-Ct (Fig. 4) and with aease that has inst been filled with bottles at position (fs. that is. ontable di which is in elevated position, the nest movement which takespiace is the descent of this tab're. This releases latch 116, which isthe onlyl one of the three latches which still engages latch bar 119,inasmuch as the cases at posiA tions C1 and C3 have, through theirdetectors, released the other two latches 11'5 and 117. The release oflatch 116 therefore causes the step-by-step operating mechanism toadvance flight conveyor chains 7l one step, that is, the space betweenone pair of ight bars. This ejects the lilled case from the platform andpositions an empty case upon it at position Cs (Figs. l and 5).

Next. the table 44 rises to position C@ with the empty tray upon it. Tocause this to occur the air valve actnatY ing lever 11.111 has to berocked from the closed position (Fig. 4b) to the open (Fig. 4). 'l'hisis :iccomplislied by the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 and. in detail. inFig. ll. A spiral cam 141 is xed to driving shaft 73 or the zight chains71, which shaft is rotated hy the step-by-stcp mechanism. One arm of ahell ct'anlz. lever 142 carrying a suitable roller is actuated by cani1.41. The other ami of this bell crang 'lever is connected to alongitudinally 9 shiftable rod 145, the left end of which slides in abracket 144 fixed to the machine frame in the vicinity of air valve 111.Pivoted at the forward end of rod 143 as shown in Fig. 4b is a hookmember 145. Rod 143 is biased toward the right by means of a compressionspring 146 shown in Fig. ll. Actuating arm 1110 is biased toward theclosed position by means of a tension spring 147.

At the commencement of an advance of iiight chains 71, cam 141 is in theposition shown in Fig. 11 and rotates in the direction of the arrow.Consequently, during almost the entire rotation of shaft 73 by thestepby-step mechanism, rod 143 is being slowly shifted towards the left.This causes the hook shaped head of member 14S to slide overthe top ofactuating lever 111e, the hook member being in the horizontal dot anddash position of Fig. 4b during this motion. This engages the hook withthe upper end of actuating lever lila. rl`hen just before the completionof the 360 rotation of shaft 73, the cam follower on bell crank 142drops off of the high spot of the cam, and rod 143 is quickly jerkedtoward the right by the action of spring 146, thus opening air valve111.

The rise of table dit caused by the opening of air valve 111 starts thepacking machine 1 on its cycle of operation which takes place in themanner described at the beginning of this specification. it will beremembered that when table si reaches the upper end of its movement,position Cs, the one-revolution clutch 24 of the packing machine istripped by the lifting of pivoted arm 57 (Fig. 2). Consequently, thepacking mechanism operates to cause a charge of bottles to descend intothe case and the elevating, table d is ready to return to its lowerposition, Cs. tn order for this to talle place, the air valve 11.1 hasto be closed and this is accomplished by releasing the hooked portion ofpivoted member 145 from the actuating lever 1116i.

This is done by raising member 1h15 about its pivot by means of a link148 which is raised at the proper time by a system of levers and linkagewhich operatively connect link 148 with a pivoted lever 149 (Fig. 4a)having a roller which is operated by a cam 150 on cam shaft 23 of thebottle packing machine. Arm 149 is connected by means of a link 151which extends downwardly and at an angle (Fig. 3) to a short arm 152fixed on a longitudinal shaft 153 (Fig. 5) mounted for rocking movementin brackets on the frame. Fixed on shaft 1521s a crooked arm 154 and theforward end of this arm is connected with the lower end of link 14Swhich lifts the pivoted hook member 14S.

This completes one feeding and packing operation and the cycle nowrepeats so long as a continuous supply of bottles and empty cases is athand.

The modified form of apparatus shown in Figs. 13 to 2i, inclusive, willnow be referred to.' The operation of this apparatus is substantiallythe same as that of the form shown in Figs. l to l2, inclusive, theprincipal difference being that the coordination of the step-by-stepoperating mechanism 35a for the flight conveyer chain 71a, and theelevating mechanism (air cylinder 112e) for the eievating table 44a isaccomplished electrically instead of mechanically.

The various parts of the apparatus shown in Figs. 13 to 2l which aresubstantially identical with corresponding parts of the apparatus ofFigs. 1 to l2, have been given thesame reference characters but with thesuix a added. Accordingly, the description to follow refers only totheportions of the modified apparatus which differ from those of thepreferred form, and it will be understood that the descriptionpreviously given will otherwise apply to the modified form of apparatus.

Referring to Figs. 13, 14 and 19, the step-by-step mechanism 85acomprises a one-revolution clutch which Starts and stops the conveyerchains 71a abruptly instead of imparting harmonic motion-to them as isdone by the crank, rack bar and pinion mechanism 85. This onerevolutionclutch comprises a toothed wheel which is keyed to main shaft 69a andconsequently rotates continuously. Mounted alongside of wheel 155 butturning loosely thereon is a sleeve 156 which, at the end nearest wheel155, has fixed to it a driven member 157'comprising two projecting lugsor arms. At its opposite end sleeve 156 has fixed to it a sprocketaround which passes a chain 153. Chain 158 is driven intermittently, asis about to be described, and imparts the step-by-step motion toconveyer chains 71a since it is trained around a sprocket 159 on drivingshaft 73a.

Rotation is imparted to sleeve 156 from wheel 155 by means of a springbiased dog 161) which is at the end o't one of the arms of driven member157. Dog 1615 has a tail portion 161 arranged to be engaged by a roller162 mounted on a control arm 163 which is pivoted on :t cross-shaft 164.A stop member 165 limits the downward movement ot' control arm 163. Whenarm 163 is in the down position shown in Fig. 19, roller 162 engagestail portion 161 and holds dog 160 withdrawn from wheel 155.

By lifting control arm 163, the dog is released and engages one of theteeth of wheel 165, and sleeve 156 commences to rotate. If arm 163 isagain lowered immediately, it will engage tail 161 as soon as sleeve 156makes one revolution and again withdraw the dog and stop furtherrotation of the sleeve. This up and down movement is imparted to controlarm 163 by means of a solenoid 166. When the solenoid is energized, itsarmature 167 is raised and carries arm 163 with it, being connectedthereto by a link and pin connection 168. The circuit for energizingsolenoid 166 is shown in Fig. 20 and will be discussed later on.

The inlet or case-supply section 64a is somewhat different frorn thecorresponding portion of the apparatus shown in Figs. l to l2 since itcomprises an escapement mechanism, indicated generally by numeral 169.This comprises a horizontally arranged rock shaft 170 (Fig. 16), at theopposite ends of which are fixed double armed levers 171 and 1711. Thearms of these two levers are in alignment laterally, and at the end ofeach arm is an inwardly projecting pin. On these pins are mounted twopairs of rollers 172 and 173. The construction and arrangement of arms171 and 171l is such that the two pairs of rollers are spaced apartsomewhat less than the length of the trays or cases to be fed, and thewhole mechanism is rocked back and forth so that when a case comes infrom the right of Fig. 15 its forward end strikes the two pairs ofrollers 172 which are in their upward position as is held in theposition indicated by Cia.

On the next rocking movement of shaft 170, the pair of rollers 172descends below the bottom of the case allowing the case to slide forwardand strike the pair 173 which have been raised simultaneously. On thefollowing rocking movement, the case is tilted by the upward lifting ofits rear end by rollers 172 as shown in the position Cza, the forwardpair of rollers 173 being lowered to allow the case to be carriedforward by the two conveyer belts llla and delivered to the inclinedroller table 103g between a pair of ight bars 79a carried by the iightchains 71a.

This timing of the case between the flight bars is accomplished bymechanism for rocking shaft 170 as follows. A cam 174 (Fig. 13) ismounted on drive shaft 73a and has cooperating with it a roller 175(Fig. l5.) mounted on the end of an arm 176 which is fixed to a shaft177. On the opposite end of this shaft there is an arm 178 (Fig. 16')having a roller 179 at its inner end which actuates rock shaft 170 byengagement with the outer end of a lever 1811 fixed to the center ofrock shaft 17. A tension spring 181, also operatively connected to theouter end of lever 180, rocks the escapement mechanism in the oppositedirection.

In this form of the apparatus an air valve 182 for controlling the airsupply and exhaust to and from the cylinder 112a which operateselevating table 44a, corresponds to air valve 111 of Fig. l. However, itis moved to open position by means of a solenoid 1S3 (Figs. 17, 1S andand to the closed position by the operation ot cam 150:1 (Figs. 13 and13a) and suitable linkage. This linkage is the same as that previouslydescribed and shown in Figs. l-/la as far as rock shaft 153m (Fig. 17).This rock shaft is provided with a downwardly extending arm 184 which isconnected by means of a link 18S with the operating rod of air valve132. The armaturc of solenoid 133 is operatively connected to theopposite end of the operating valve of air valve 182 as shown in Figs.17 and 18.

The Solenoid 166 which moves armature 167 to con trol the one-revolutionclutch 85a is energized by means ct a magnitudinally operated switch 13620). This switch closes a set of contacts 187 when its operaiing coil isenergized thereby energizing solenoid 166 from the supply conductors18S. The circuit (Fig. 20) which controls the energization of theoperating coil of magnetic switch 186 includes a number of switchesSi--Ss and the functions of some of these are the san e as those oflatches 115, 116 and 117 in the mechanically controlled apparatus. Someof these switches also coordinate the operations of the step-by-steptray advancing mechanism and the raising and lowering of elevating table44u.

in place of the latch 115 of the mechanically controlled form ofapparatus, switch Si is arranged on the frame of the apparatus near caseposition Cin and is operated by means of a lever 189 which is biasedinto engagement with one side of the case as shown in Fig. 14. When acase is present at this position, switch Si is closed, but otherwiseremains open. Switches Si-Ss are substantially alike in construction.Each includes an appropriate stationary contact, or contacts, and amovable Contact arm, all being indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 20.The contct arm is moved by an operating lever having a roller at its endwhich is engaged by the part which actuates the switch (see lever 190and the case operating lever 189). Movement of the switch operatinglever tensions a spring (for example spring 191) and closes the switchcontacts.

Switch S2 is operated by arm 1341/1 by the case at position Cyr and thisswitch corresponds to latch 117 of the preferred form ot apparatus. Thisswitch insures that the case has properly entered the space between thecarrier bars and prevents the operation of the apparatus in the eventthat a case becomes jammed in the guideways due to protruding nails orstrapping.

A switch Ss (Figs. 13 and 20) is closed by a projection 192 on thebottom of elevating table 445/1 so that this switch is closed only whenthe case table is in its down position. This prevents the flight chain71 from being advanced accidentally when the case table is in the upposition.

Switch Ss is located at one side of the flight conveyer and is adaptedto be closed by the engagement of its operating lever with the end ofthe flight bar 79a which has just moved the tray or case onto theelevating table 44a. This switch and switches S4 and S5 control thecircuit of air valve 1&3 for the elevating table. Swiitches S4 and S5are operated through actuating mechanism of particular constructionwhich includes a case detector 193 operating through an opening in casetable 44a so that these switches are operated by a combination of thedownward movement of table 44a and the presence or absence of a case onthe table, as will presently be described in detail.

The circuit connections of switches Si-Ss with the operating coil ofmagnetic switch 186, which controls the energization of theone-revolution clutch solenoid 186, and with the operating coil ofsolenoid 183, which opens the air valve 182 to raise the elevating table44a, are shown in Fig. 20. It is assumed that the apparatus is primedwith cases, that is, cases are present at position Cra, Cm, Csa, Carland C551, that is, on the case table 44a, and that this table hasdescended from the up position to the down position with the tray filledwith bottles, air valve 182 having just been closed by the operation ofcam 15th: and the linkage, previously described, which is connected withthe operating rod of this air valve.

From one of the supply conductors 1.88 a circuit may be traced throughthe contacts of a manually' operated shut-oit switch 194, through aconductor 195 to the movable switch contact 196 of switch S4, thencethrough the upper stationary contact of this switch to the upper contactof switch Si and conductor 207 to the movable Contact 20S of switch S5,thence through the upper contact of this switch to a conductor 197.Conductor 197 leads to the contacts of switch S3, thence through aconductor 198 through the contacts of switch S1, conductor 199, thecontacts of switch S2 and conductor 200 to the operating coil ofmagnetic switch 186 and from this coil to the opposite supply conductor133. The next movement, consequently, is a step advance of flight chains71a, and, in Fig. 20, this is about to tal/.e place through thecnergization of solenoid 166 by the closing of magnetic switch 136.

The particular actuating mechanism for switches S4 and S5 is shown inFig. 13 and diagrammatically in Fig. 2l in several dilerent positions.Referring to Fig. 13, the case detector 1% is a narrow plate havingbeveled forward and rear edges which is engaged by the case on theplatform and heid down as shown in Fig. 13. Detector plate 193 iscarried on the upper end of an arm 201 which is pivoted at 202 to abracket projecting downwardly from beneath elevating table 414.0'. AneX- tcnsion 293 ot arm Zal on the opposite side of pivot 2&2 engages theoperating lever of switch S4 and moves it to the position shown in Fig.20 and also in Fig. Zl-A. The actuating mechanism includes a, third andlonger arm 2134 which turns loosely on pivot 262 and is actuated fromextension 2113 by means of a tension spring 295 which urges arm 264against stop pin 2116 on the side of extension 263. Arm 294 actuates theoperating lever of switch S5.

Referring now to Fig. 2l, with the full case resting on table 44a readyto be ejected, arms 293 and 204 of the actuating mechanism have, bytheir vertical descent with the table, engaged and moved the operatinglevers of the respective switches S4 and S5 to the position shown inFig. 21-A (also in Fig. 20), where the movable contacts of both switchesengage their top stationary contacts. This brings about the energizationof the operating coil of magnetic switch 186, through the circuitpreviously described.

The energization of solenoid 166 by the closing of magnetic switch 186causes the operation of one-revolution clutch a, and the ight conveyorchain 71a moves forward one flight bar space. The Hight bar 79a which isimmediately behind the tray at position Csa moves the tray to the leftand ejects it onto roller conveyer 99a. The movement of the ight barreleases the operating lever of switch Ss thus opening this switch,which is in the circuit (to be described presently) of solenoid 183which opens air valve 182. Hence, table Ma cannot be accidentally raisedduring movement of the Ilight conveyer. The succeeding flight bar 79abrings up the empty case from position C4 to position C5 on theelevating table. The ejection of the full tray from the table 44areleases detector 193 and the switches S4 and S5 move to the positionshown in Fig. 2l-B where the movable contacts engage the lower contactsof both switches.

The circuit of the energizing coil of magnetic switch 186 is openedeither by this movement or by the release of switch S2 at position Caa.As soon as the new empty tray arrives on table 44a, it depressesdetector 193 (Fig. Zl-C) thus moving the lower end of extension 203 tothe right and raising movable contact 196 of switch S4 against the upperstationary contact, but arm 204 merely moves against the side of theactuating lever of switch S and the movable contact 20S of this switchremains in the down position.

The movement of switch S4 closes a circuit from conductor 195 throughmovable contact 196 to conductor 207, thence to movable contact 208, andto the lower stationary contact of switch S5, to a conductor 209,Conductor 209 leads to switch Ss which has been reclosed by theengagement of its operating lever with the end of the flight bar 79awhich moves the new case into position on table 44a. This closes acircuit through a conductor 210 to the operating coil 183 of air valve182 thus opening this valve and causing the air cylinder 112a to raisetable 44a to its up position to receive the charge of bottles fromcharge directing mechanism 7a of the bottle packing machine.

This releases arms 203 and 204 from the operating levers of switches S4and S5, and the movable contact of switch Si returns to engagement withits lower stationary Contact. The dropping of movable contact 196 ofswitch S4 leaves open the circuit to the operating coil of magneticswitch 186 so that, although the case de tector switches S1 and S2 maybe closed by cases at their respective positions, the ight conveyorchains 71a are prevented from being advanced by the step-by-stepmechanism. The table operated switch S3 which is closed only when table44a is in its down position also prevents the iiight conveyor chainsfrom being advanced accidentally when the table 44a is in the upposition.

` After the discharge of the load of bottles into the tray on the raisedtable, cam lta again moves air valve 182 to the closed position therebylowering table 44a, and the cycle described above again commences.

The mechanically and the electrically controlled apparatuses operate insubstantially the same way to automatically feedthe trays or cases to,and in coordination with, the bottle packing mechanism. it will beunderstood that additional changes may be made in the construction andarrangement of thetwo embodiments of the invention hereinabove disclosedwithout departing from its spirit or from its scope which is set forthin the appended claims.

We claim:

l. ln an article packing machine, packing mechanism for inserting anassembled charge of articles into a case, a movable table for raising anempty case from a lower position into charge-receiving position withrespect to said mechanism and for returning the filled case to saidlower position, a case slideway at the level of said lower tableposition, an endless conveyer having spaced rigid flight bars arrangedto move successive empty cases along said slideway and over said table,mechanism constructed and arranged to advance said conveyerintermittently a predetermined distance at each operation of saidadvancing mechanism and to terminate said advance when one of saidiiight bars has positioned a case over said table and in registry withsaid inserting mechanism, and elevating mechanism for raising said tableto enable the case thereon to receive a charge and for returning saidfilled case to its previous position in front of said flight bar,whereby, on the next advance of said endless conveyer, said iiight barwill remove the iilled case from said table and the next succeedingiiight bar will position the next succeeding case upon said table.

2. ln an article packingmachine, packing mechanism for inserting anassembled charge of articles into a case, a movable table for raising anempty case from a lower position into charge-receiving position withrespect to said mechanism and for returning. the lled case to said lowerposition, a case slideway at the level of said lower table position, anendless conveyer having spaced rigid flight bars arranged to movesuccessive empty cases along said slideway and over said table,mechanism constructed and arranged to advance said conveyerintermittently a predetermined distance at each operation of saidadvancing mechanism and to terminate said advance when one of saidliight bars has positioned a case over said table and in registry withsaid inserting mechanism, elevating mechanism for raising said table toenable the case thereon to receive a charge and for returning saidfilled case to its previous position in front of said flight bar,whereby on the next advance of said endless conveyer said flight barwill remove the filled case from said table and the next succeedingflight bar will position the next succeeding case upon said table, andmeans for controlling said conveyer advancing mechanism to cause anadvance of said endless conveyer after each complete reciprocation ofsaid table.

3. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 2 in which aone-revolution clutch is operatively connected to actuate thecharge-inserting mechanism to insert the assembled charge of articlesinto the case, said onerevolution clutch having a tripping member toinitiate its operation, and said tripping member being actuated by thereciprocating table as the table reaches the chargereceiving position.

4. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 2 in which the tableelevating mechanism is provided with control means to cause the table torise, said means being operatively connected with the conveyer advancingmechanism and actuated thereby substantially at the end o each advancingmovement of the conveyer.

5. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 2 in which theconveyer advancing mechanism is constructed to operate through acomplete cycle and is provided with a tripping device for initiatingsuch operation, said tripping device being actuated by the reciprocatingtable substantally as it reaches its lower position.

6. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 5 in which thetripping device comprises a latch mechanism, said mechanism beingactuated to release position by the downward movement of thereciprocating table and substantially at the end of such movement.

7. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 2 in which theendless conveyer is provided with a drive shaft, the conveyer advancingmechanism comprising a continuously rotating crank, a rack bar driven bysaid crank, the teeth of said rack bar engaging a gear arranged torotate freely on the endless conveyer drive shaft, a toothed wheel keyedto said drive shaft, a driving pawl for coacting with said wheel, saidpawl being pivotally mounted upon and rotating with said gear, means forbiasing said pawl into engagement with said toothed wheel, a shiftableshield constructed and arranged to engage said pawl and hold it out ofengagement with said wheel, and means for shifting said shield out ofengagement with said pawl when said crank is at one end of its stroke tocause said pawl to engage the toothed wheel and rotate the drive shaftof the endless conveyer.

8. In an article packing machine, charge-releasing mechanism,charge-directing mechanism for receiving the released charge and throughwhich the same is dropped into a case, a reciprocating table for raisinga case from a lower position into charge-receiving position with respectto the charge-directing mechanism and lowering the lled case to saidlower position, a conveyor having spaced tiight bars arranged to moveover said table when at said lower position to move successive casesbeneath said charge-directing mechanism, step-by-step conveyor operatingmechanism for moving said conveyor a predetermined distance at eachoperation of said mechanism, said movement terminating when a case hasbeen positioned by one of said flight bars in registry with saidcharge-directing mechanism, elevating mechanism for raising and loweringsaid table, means for controlling said step-bystep operating mechanismto cause an advance of said conveyor after each complete reciprocationof said table, an in-eed conveyor constructed and arranged to deliverempty cases to said Hight conveyor, timing mechanism associated withsaid in-feed conveyor, and means operated by said step-by-step mechanismfor actuating said timing mechanism to cause the delivery of the casesone at a time between the Hight bars of the Hight conveyer.

9. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 8 in which aone-revolution clutch is operatively connected to actuate thecharge-inserting mechanism to cause the assembled charge of articles tobe inserted in the case, said one-revolution clutch having a trippingmember to initiate its operation, and said tripping member beingactuated by the reciprocating table as it reaches the chargereceivingposition.

10. An article packing machine as set forth in claim 8 in which thestep-by-step conveyer moving mechanism is constructed to operate througha complete cycle and is provided with a tripping device for initiatingsuch operation, said tripping device being actuated by the reciprocatingtable substantialiy as it reaches its lower position.

ll. in an article packing machine, packing mechanism for inserting acharge oi articles in a case including a reciprocating table, theinitiation of the cycle of operation of said packing mechanism beingeffected by the rise of said table, a Hight conveyer to advance emptycases, said table serving to raise a case from said Hight conveyer tothe charge-receiving position of said packing mechanism and to returnthe filled case to said Hight conveyer for ejection, stcp-by-stepconveyer moving mechanism having a cycle of operation for advancing saidHight conveyer, elevating mechanism for said table, means actuated bythe return movement of said table to eiect the initiation of the cycleof operation of said stepby-step conveyer moving mechanism, and meansactuated by said mechanism for controlling said elevating means to raisesaid table.

l2. in an article packing machine, packing mechanism for inserting acharge of articles in a case including a reciprocating table, theinitiation of the cycle of operation of said packingr mechanism beingeffected by the rise of said table, a Hight conveyer to advance emptycases, said table serving to raise a case from said Hight conveyer' tothe charge-receiving position of said packing mechanism and to returnthe filled case to said Hight conveyer for ejection, step-by-stepconveyer moving mechanism having a cycle of Operation for advancing saidHight conveyer, elevating mechanism for said table, cycle initiatingmeans actuated by the return movement of said table to effect theinitiation of the cycle of operation of said step-by-step mechanism,means actuated by said conveyer moving mechanism for controlling saidelevating means to raise said table, and means operated by a case on theflight conveyer to condition the cycle initiating means for operation.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 12 including an in-feedconveyer for supplying cases to the Hight conveyer, and means operatedby a case on the in-feed conveyer for further conditioning thecycle-initiating means for operation.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 12 including an in-feedconveyer for supplying cases to the Hight conveyer, timing mechanismtherein operated by the stepby-step mechanism to deliver the cases oneat a time between the Hight bars, and means operated hy a case on thein-feed conveyer for further conditioning the cycleinitiating means foroperation.

l5. in an article packing machine, packing mechanism for inserting acharge of articles in a case including a reciprocating table, the cycleof operation of said packing mechanism being initiated by the rise ofsaid table, a Hight conveyer to advance empty cases, said table servingto raise a case from said Hight conveyer to the charge-receivingposition of said packing mechanism and to return the Hilcd case to saidHight conveyer for ejection, step--by-step conveyer moving mechanismhaving a cycle of operation for advancing said Hight conveyer, elevatingmechanism for said table, cycle initiating means actuated by tbe returnmovement of said table to etect the initiation of the cycle of operationof said step-by-step conveyer moving mechanism, means actuated by saidmechanism for controlling said elevating means to raise said table, andan in-ieed conveyer for supplying cases to the Hight conveyer.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,247,722 Rogers et al Nov. 27, 1917 1,354,250 Hawthorne Sept. 28, 19202,053,418 Braren Sept. 8, 1936 2,102,640 Novotny Dec. 21, 1937 2,219,827Kimball et al Oct. 29, 1940 2,252,127 Kimball Aug. 12, 1941 2,277,688Cattonar et al Mar. 3l, 1942 2,329,413 Neja Sept. 14, 1943 2,331,018Fedorchak et al Oct. 5, 1943 2,376,176 Neja May 15, 1945 2,430,878Kimball Nov. 18, 1947

